Gambia runs Coaches and Technical Course for Young Players

31 March 2012

A four day volleyball training program was conducted in The Gambia. The programme was organized by the Gambia Volleyball Association in collaboration with the Volleyball Development Center in Dakar Senegal. The course which was held from the 15th -19th March 2011 was on the perfection of volleyball coaches and the technical re-enforcement of young players.The course started with theoretical sessions which focused on strengthening the knowledge base of the coaches. During these sessions the coaches were exposed to the basic information required in developing young players. The emphasis however was on the practical sessions. The practical sessions were conducted in three volleyball academies in three different towns in the country namely: Banjul, Jeshwang and Serekunda East. Over 100 children participated in the practical part of the course. After a lead practical session by the instructor all the coaches were assigned to conduct a training session with the children. The children’s training programmes were all followed up with proper evaluation sessions with both children and coaches involved. “From what I gathered over the last 4 days, Gambian volleyball has a good future if the work started by the coaches here continues,” the FIVB Instructor of the course Mbaye Deme said. “The level of the children in all the visited academies is amazing and I was impressed with the attachment and discipline the children have to the game. They were all very enthusiastic and the response level was really good. If the current trend continues in The Gambia volleyball will be among the leading sports in the country and the country will inevitably match the level of other African countries. The development of the coaches running the volleyball programs in the respective academies is key in the Gambian crusade to develop volleyball. “ He added. He also advised the inclusion of the girls at all levels of volleyball development in the country and the organization of more competitions at the level of youth and junior categories. A lot of media had the interest to cover the event with some published stories in the daily newspapers and written media